The phrase 'Hitchcockian' has entered the common language when referring to a particular form of suspense story-telling. That alone is enough to ensure Alfred Hitchcock's place among the best director's of all time.

Like David Lean his placement stands both as a testament to his skill and his influence. Unlike Lean, or many others on the list, it's also due to the unerring eye and feel of his films themselves. "Suspicion" "Notorious" "The 39 Steps" "North by Northwest" "Pyscho" Rear Window" "Vertigo." He only really made one type of film, but that spot he chose he rubbed to perfection. The suspense film and it's offspring--even slasher movies--of today are what they are because of Alfred Hitchcock. Even his later contemporaries, when they ventured onto his turf worked in his vein. So much so that it's difficult to imagine what they would have been like if he hadn't come along.

Hitchcock started directing films in the 1920s and worked all the way through to the modern era, but he never altered himself to fit his times. His singular focus on what frightened or troubled people kept him going. You could spend forever talking about his own personal demons. His obsession with mothers and blondes. The competing desire and inability to truly connect with women. But none of that matters. What matters is, Hitchcock knew peoople, knew what made them tick. You have to in order to know what will frighten them, and Hitchock certainly knew that.

Hitchcock is one of a very small number of directors on this list who did not also write his films. Like those others, though, he was a master storyteller and there was never any doubt that you were watching a Hitchcock film.

He may have only stuck to one genre, but he wrote the book on it. Three decades after his death and many directors still feel compelled to make their 'Hitchcock' film at least once in their careers. No one's real been able to, though, with even the best attempts coming off as pale imitations when compared to the original. There's no surer sign of a master than that.